Best value procurement is becoming more popular with transportation agencies because it allows them to consider factors other than cost. However, best value procurement is also more complex and can lead to protests if not conducted properly. NCHRP Legal Research Digest 90: Best Value Procurement for Highway Construction: Legal Issues and Strategies , from TRB's National Cooperative Highway Researc...

Federal, state, and municipal transportation agencies have taken steps to advance the integration of transportation planning and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to create more unified decision-making processes, reduce duplication of efforts, and support better informed project-level decisions. The TRB National Cooperative Highway Research Program's NCHRP Legal Research Digest 89: Plan...

Public entities negotiating transportation construction contracts must strike the right balance between protecting the public from risk and affording counterparties the flexibility necessary to complete projects. The public nature and cost of transportation construction projects creates a risk of large consequential damages awards, leading to a proliferation of different contractual clauses and st...

Economic, social, and other factors cause a continuous increase in populations who are unsheltered throughout the United States. It is not unusual for individuals who are unhoused to establish refuge and shelter in encampments that encroach within, around, under, or upon transportation rights-of-way, including but not limited to highway/freeway interchanges, overpasses, bridges, and tunnels. The T...

Managing risks is central to ensuring the success of highway construction projects. This has become even more evident as projects that are drastically increased in size and complexity have become more common. Known generally to the transportation industry as “mega projects,” the number of such highway projects is on the rise. The TRB National Cooperative Highway Research Program's NCHRP Legal Rese...

Transportation agencies across the country may face legal challenges from property owners when design or permit changes cause safety concerns or obstruct access to private driveways in the public right-of-way. The TRB National Cooperative Highway Research Program's NCHRP Legal Research Digest 85: Public Liabilities Relating to Driveway Permits evaluates the circumstances under which transportation...

The condition of the transportation infrastructure in the United States is an issue of national importance. State departments of transportation and transit agencies face tough choices as they make decisions about how and when to keep their assets safely open to the public. The TRB Transit Cooperative Research Program and National Cooperative Highway Research Program's  TCRP Legal Research Dig...

In the legal system, transportation engineering documents drafted by the transportation industry include manuals, studies, research documents, memoranda, and email. These documents are frequently used by litigants and courts as evidence bearing on the standard of care or duties for transportation agencies sued for alleged negligence in operation of transportation facilities. The TRB National Coope...

Slope failures pose serious risks for state transportation agencies and federal agencies that own or maintain roads, highways, and/or adjacent property. Many transportation agencies have adopted unstable slope management programs and standards as part of a larger effort to provide an efficient and effective methodology to prevent or control landslides or rockfalls. The TRB National Cooperative Hig...

Utility companies are seeking to locate communications facilities and evolving wireless communication technology and its infrastructure in state right-of-way. The TRB National Cooperative Highway Research Program's NCHRP LRD 81: Legal Issues Concerning the Use of Transportation Facilities to Generate Revenue for State DOTs summarizes and provides a legal analysis of the legal issues related to a s...

The Federal Highway Administration's “Buy America Act” requires federally funded highway projects to use only steel, iron, and manufactured products produced in the United States. The TRB National Cooperative Highway Research Program's NCHRP LRD 80: Buy America Requirements for Federal Highway Projects summarizes the intent and application of the provision. It also summarizes the procedure that FH...

For more than 150 years, the Federal False Claims Act has served to prevent false claims for federal government funds. In recent years, a number of state legislatures have enacted state false claims acts modeled after the Federal FCA, to prevent false claims for state government funds. State highway departments and transportation agencies have a continuing need to keep abreast of operating practic...

State transportation departments appear to have sufficient authority to take public-use property for their highway and other transportation projects. However, there are some kinds of public-use property, such as parks and recreational areas, for which a transportation department may need specific statutory authority or legislative approval and/or must comply with statutory conditions and requireme...

Federal laws and regulations affect transportation agencies in their business practices, construction of facilities, hiring, and services provided to the public. TRB’s National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Legal Research Digest 77: Update of Selected Studies in Transportation Law, Volume 8, Section 1: Civil Rights and Transportation Agencies is designed to help state highway depart...

TRB’s National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Legal Research Digest (LRD) 76 examines the intersection of transportation law and Indian law as it relates to federal, state, and local transportation agencies. The LRD provides background information on Indians, tribes, and the history of the federal government’s Indian policy and Indian law and explores jurisdiction in Indian country b...

TRB's National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Legal Research Digest 75: Legal Requirements for State Departments of Transportation Agency Participation in Conservation Plans describes Habitat Conservation Plans (HCPs) and their relation to wetland mitigation banking, regional planning, and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Purchase and sale of wetland banks, habitat, and ...

TRB's National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Legal Research Digest 74: Liability of State Departments of Transportation for Design Errors covers liability insurance for design errors and omissions. It also examines public construction law, professional liability, and product warranties. This study demonstrates that litigation has defined the parameters of a transportation department...

TRB's National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Legal Research Digest 73: Primer on Patentability and Use of Ideas Developed by Contractors Performing Work for State and Federal Transportation and Local Planning Agencies summarizes federal and state patent laws and then reviews the similarities and differences between the two. It also discusses and distinguishes patentability issues co...

TRB's National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Legal Research Digest 72: Summary of Federal Law Restricting Use of Highway Safety Data in Tort Litigation explores the origins and provisions of 23 U.S.C. § 409, Discovery and Admission as Evidence of Certain Reports and Surveys, which prohibits the use, in tort litigation, of highway safety data created for purposes related to safety im...

TRB's National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Legal Research Digest 71: Liability of Transportation Entity for the Unintentional Release of Secure Data or the Intentional Release of Monitoring Data on Movements or Activities of the Public reviews the statutes, regulations, and common law regarding the release of data collected for transportation purposes. Included in this research ar...